The Old Chateau
by Mr. Mawkish
Summary: Max is set on a goal, and he's determined to complete it. But do the rumours around the Old Chateau really hold some truth to them? Oneshot.


Max shivered under the sharp winter breeze, feeling it sift between the tiny holes present in his warm, bundled clothing. He stared up, through pale leaves and dead branches, at the abandoned mansion before him – the Old Chateau.  
Absentmindedly grinding his teeth together, Max gently let a heavily gloved hand leave its warm spot in his thick, woollen jacket – towards one of the six Pokèballs strapped on a leather belt. Gripping it tightly, he threw it forward, shielding his eyes from the sudden light that emerged.

"_Infer!" _Infernape cried, readying himself for battle. When he realised there wasn't one, he lowered his arms and stood a little straighter, turning around in confusion.  
"No battle for now, buddy." Max replied, pushing open the tired, steel gate. "But, just in case, I may need your help."

Infernape nodded, following his owner from a close distance. Around the pair were shrivelled remains of flowers a-plenty, and thick patches of unavoidable grass scattered the provinces. Max was careful of where to place his feet – a random encounter with a Budew or Murkrow was something he'd rather avoid.

Whilst the sun had mostly been blotted out by clouds, the area in front of the old mansion seemed more menacing and darker than its slightly bright surroundings. For a moment, he paused. Maybe he should wait for a better day. Perhaps he should go to the 'mart again.

_No_. He shook his head. _It's now or never_.

With a firm hand, Max pushed open the creaking doors, listening to the echo that had now encased the foyer. Infernape growled – he could sense something wrong – but Max ignored him, stepping into the mansion.

The doors behind him slammed shut, separating the trainer from his Flame pokémon. The pokémon in question let out a sharp yelp, then began to pound on the door. His fight-or-flight response kicking in Max frantically twisted the doorknob, pulling it with all his might. The once easy-to-open door was now glued shut – nothing he did seemed to open it.

"_Fer! FER NAPE!_" Infernape roared behind the oak doors. Max felt the door vibrate, but nothing happened.

"D-don't worry, Infernape!" Max cried, trying to ease his starter's worries. "I'll be alright! I'll see if I can find another way out!" He sighed, stepping away from the frantic noises at the door, muttering, "Just as soon as I find what I came here for…"

The mansion was dark, as he expected. Luckily, his phone had a torch function on it, and he lit it accordingly, scanning it across the dilapidated walls of the mansion. Two staircases lead to the top floor, blocked off by decaying guardrails. There was an open door from the front – his first destination.

Max pulled his bag off his back, pulling out a golden spray bottle and covering himself with it. The smell was horrific, but hopefully it would do the trick. He placed it back in his bag and threw it over his shoulder, heading for the first door.

The torchlight revealed a dining room. The cloth, dated and stained, coated a large table that spanned the entire length of the room. Suddenly, an aroma caught Max's nose, and he sniffed it, curiously. Following the scent led him to an old bookshelf on the west side of the room, blocked by a few boxes – upon opening it, he was greeted with a jar of honey. Max chuckled. "Good thing honey never gets stale."

As he wondered back into the dining room, a sudden chill caught him by surprise. His phone began to flicker, until all at once it turned off entirely, as if low on battery. "H-hello?" Max asked, his voice shaking. "Is someone there?"

Shivering, he reached for another Pokèball; he dropped it in surprise as he caught the sight of an old man, dressed in a brown trench coat, standing quietly behind one of the chairs. Even the familiar windchimes of Chimecho couldn't pull him out of his stupor. That man wasn't there when he entered – and he swore he didn't hear anyone come in, nor walk across the creaking floor – so he can't have come from the kitchen.

"O-oh, hello?" Max greeted wearily. The man's face seemed to be black, and he seemed pale – so pale that it was as if he could see right through him. "Sorry, I didn't realise anyone still lived here – but how did you move so quietly? I barely heard you come in."

The man didn't respond. Instead, he began to… glide, almost, down the room, entering through a small archway into what Max could only assume was the kitchen. He followed. But he stopped. "_Chime?_" Chimecho asked, confused.

The man was gone. It was as if he'd vanished into thin air.

_Like a ghost_.

Max ran. Chimecho flew after him, probably confused more than anything. He'd heard the rumours of hauntings, but he thought it was just a wild Ghastly trio or something. Not a _real _ghost.

Infernape seemed to have gone quiet – that, or he'd left to find help. Either way, the noise at the door had been shunned, and the mansion was quiet once more. Max tried the door – still, it wouldn't budge.

_This can't be real_, Max thought to himself. _No, you're seeing things. This has to be some odd pokémon – maybe even the one I'm looking for._

"_Echo?!_" Chimecho cried. Max jumped at the loud crashing and clanging from upstairs.

"W-what was that?!" Max yelped, taking a step back. He was afraid – so very, very afraid. But he couldn't leave. He turned to command Chimecho, but the terrified pokémon had already zipped back into the safe confines of her Pokèball.

Max held his chest up high, taking deep, shaking breaths. Steadying himself, he gripped onto the dusty guardrails, and made his way up the old, creaking steps. He pushed the door just above the dining room open, entering the dimly lit hallway.

Suddenly, a door on the far end opened, and a small girl came out. Her hair was tied in a bow, and she wore an old yellow sundress. Underneath it, Max swore there was some kind of thick padding. The girl gave him a toothy smile, and all at once Max felt his legs turn to jelly.

"U-uh… hey, there, little one…" Max stuttered. "A g-girl as young as you shouldn't be running around a place like this…"

"What d'ya mean?" The girl asked. Her voice sounded far away. "Dis is my home, silly!"

Max blinked. "I'm s-sorry, what? This place has been abandoned for a good forty years now."

The girl giggled. "You silly!" Then, the girl gasped. "Do you want to play with me?"

"N-no, thank you…" Max muttered, taking a step back. "I'm a little busy right now."

The girl pouted. "Adults are sooo boring." Max took another step back. "But I can make you little! Just like me! Then we can play all day!"

Yet again, Max ran. The smell of the repel seemed to vanish, but he didn't notice. "Hey!" he could hear the girl cry. "Come back!"

Max ripped open one of the doors on the upper floor, slamming it shut behind him and locking it. He pushed himself into a corner, trying to control his breathing.

"_Haunter…_"

Max jumped. Realising the repel had worn off, he frantically tore his bag off his back, trying to find another. There wasn't one. Panic shot up his nervous system.

"_Haunter…!_"

Max grabbed a ball from his belt. He wasn't sure which one it was. "Come out!" He cried.

So, the Haunter did. But so did the pokémon from the ball he threw – a blue lion with a lighting-black mane emerged, crying out, "_Luxray!"_

The Haunter smirked. Luxray crouched, awaiting commands from his terrified trainer. "L-Luxray!" he stuttered. "S-spark!"

The Luxray began to glow a faint yellow, as sparks of electricity danced across his body. The Haunter smiled and disappeared. Yet, Luxray continued to generate electricity, its eyes following the invisible force. Just as it burst from the shadows, Luxray allowed his attack to burst from his body, catching the Haunter off-guard and paralysing it.

Quickly, Max got up, and ripped open the door. "Hurry, Luxray!" he cried, running for the hallway. Perhaps, like the old man, the little girl had disappeared. Luxray nodded, following his panicking trainer as they entered into a random room.

Only once they had escaped did Max realise the door had been unlocked. He glanced around, paranoia coating his normal senses.

"_Lux…_" Luxray moaned, brushing his fur against his trainer. He gave Max a soft lick, trying to calm him.

"T-thanks, Luxray." Max muttered, patting the lion. Suddenly, the television in the room burst to life.

Max's head whipped to the side as he stared into the static. That's when he saw it. Exactly what he came for. "Luxray, return." He whispered, tapping the button on his Pokèball. Luxray whined, but he was quickly caught in the red beam, sucked back into the circular device.

He grabbed another ball. This one was black with dark green circles. "Come out, Skuntank. Prepare to fight."

With a horrible odour accompanying him, Skuntank emerged with a growl. Quietly, Max approached the television. He tapped the screen once. Twice. The tapping of glass echoed behind the static.

On the third tap, the television turned off. The room went dark. "Poison Gas!" Max cried, covering his mouth.

"_Ro!" _Rotom cried, his hidden form emerging from the television. The pokémon gagged, frowning. His body became static with sudden electricity, and he threw it forward, electrocuting Skuntank.

Skuntank cried out. Max quickly readied a Paralyze Heal, but his pokémon seemed to be fine. Jumping upon an old bed, hearing the springs squeak, he ordered, "Night Slash!"

Skuntank's claws began to glow darkly, yet he stood silently, watching Rotom. Just as the pokémon readied to flee, Skuntank leapt from his position, striking down Rotom, of whom cried out in pain. Max clutched an Ultra Ball in his hand, but he didn't want to throw it yet. "Now!" Max yelled. "Use Screech!"

Skuntank did exactly that, arching his head into the air. Rotom cringed as loose bolts of electricity danced off his body. Suddenly, Skuntank stopped moving. His voice was suddenly silenced. _Thunder Wave_, Max realised. He tossed the ball at Rotom, catching the pokémon by surprise, and sprayed the skunk Pokémon with a Paralyze Heal. The screech ended properly shortly after, and the pokémon gave a soft, happy cry.

The ball shook. Max's breath hitched, and the two stared at the ball. The air seemingly became thick, and hard to breathe.  
It shook twice. Something awful entered Max's nose. Skuntank began to cough.  
It shook a third time. This wasn't excitement. Something was wrong. Max pushed the button on Skuntank's Pokèball, saving him from the stale tasting air.

With a shower of happy sparks, the Pokèball clicked shut. A successful capture. But he had no time to celebrate, as he grabbed the ball and covered his mouth with his scarf, he ran out to the foyer.

The house was in flames. Ash-coated straw and burning wood beams fell from the ceiling, blocking the locked door. His eyes whizzed through thick smoke and hot flames, burning. He could hear a girl's shrieks on the lower floor. His ears threatened to pop.

He opened his mouth to cry for help, but it was to no avail. Smoke filled his lungs and he began to choke. A beam from above fell upon the rotting upper landing, causing it to fall apart into the dining room. Heavily injured and unable to breathe, Max closed his eyes, falling into the darkness.

* * *

Upon awakening, he was shocked. Max went to jolt upwards, but pain forced him back down. "Careful," a pleasant voice responded. "Your wounds are severe, you don't want to be moving around too much."

"What… happened?" Max asked. His eyesight was blurry.

"Your Infernape attempted to free you from the Old Chateau using Ember combined with his Blaze ability." The person explained. "Now, there isn't an Old Chateau anymore, but your Octillery came to your aid. The two of them brought you here, to the Eterna City Pokémon Centre."

Max blinked, trying feverously to reclaim his vision. "You have severe burns up your arms and legs and you have temporary blindness. You'll have to stay here for a while."

"…Nurse Joy, is it?" Max asked, sighing as he placed his head back on the pillow of his hospital bed. "Where's my pokémon?"

"Healing, in their own separate ward." Nurse Joy explained. "It's okay, every single one of them – even the Rotom – are fine."

Max felt a smile creep onto his face. "That's good."

"Also, you won't need to worry about paying for damages. The new owners of the place were planning on tearing it down anyway – the rumours about the old place seemed to keep them away." She chuckled, and Max could hear her walking away. "Who really believes in ghosts?"

Left alone, Max sighed. So did the person next to him. "Yeah," the person said. Max suddenly felt a chill warp down his body, and his eyes widened. The person sounded like a little girl. "Who believes in ghosts, mister?"


End file.
